lot of these problems that we ease. >> thank you so much for being on al jazeera, sir kens >> >> the glimmer of hope in the search for the missile malaysian jet. a word of caution. threats of death no match for democracy. counting the votes for the historical election. it happened all the time. we rarely see them like this. a spectacular show in the sky courtesy of the sun.

>> these signals and the objects could not be verified as being related to missing aircraft at that point in time. that remains the case. >> that's the man at the helm of the search for malaysia flight mh370, saying crews can't confirm whether pings detected on sonar are from the missing plane's black box. >> a chinese ship picked up two pulses from the indian ocean on saturday. they were detected in the search area. the teams are focussed on the area where the sound was picked up. it's encouraging but warns against creating false hope for families of missing passengers. >> we need to keep at the forefront of our minds families and friends of 239 passengers

aboard the flight. speculation and unconfirmed reports can see the loved ones of passengers put through terrible stress, and i don't want to put any further - put them under any further emotional distress at this very difficult time. >> now, that airplane's black box has a battery life of about 30 days, with malaysia airlines's flight 370 disappearing more than four weeks ago, it's been a race against time to find it. if the battery runs out the flight data recorder will retain vital information into what happened. flight 370 was on route from quantum pur to -- kuala lumpur to bjing. here -- beijing when it was lost. >> here is how it works. crews drop the yellow trig anningular thing. a ship pulls it along as it

listens for the black box. typically it can only be picked up a mile away. >> joining us via albuquerque is dr alan diehl, a former investigator with the national transportation safety board and author of "air safety investigators", thank you for being with us. these pings - are they the best lead yet? >> i think they are. obviously we have to be cautious. this is the most promising thing since the satellite data, which shifted towards where the pings are heard. >> when australian authorities say the pings resemble the black boxes, they urge caution. let's listen to what they said. >> in the days, weeks and possibly months ahead. there may be leads such as the one i'm reporting to you this

morning, on a regular basis. i would ask you the media to treat them as unverified until such time as we can provide unequivocal determination. >> there he is, calling it unverified. is there other equipment that might emit pings underwater that might get confused with a black box ping? >> not that i'm aware of. it's not just the frequency of the signal, it's the repetition, the one minute rep station. that sounds an awful lot like a black pox. we need to wait and we know there'll be a shift with sonar detection devices unseen in 14 hours. maybe in a day or so we'll have a better feel for this. >> you think it sounds promising? >> i think it sounds quite promising, but we need to wait perhaps another day or longer

until we get the echo, is the name of the ship that will be arriving on scene. >> you mention waving. it's almost been a month sense the plane went missing. what are the chances search crews can find the jetliner - ping or no ping? >> it's a different scenario. with the pinger it's virtual certainty. without the pinger i would think it would be months, probably years, and maybe never - i hate to say it. that's the reality, the third largest body of the water in the e in the world. we have -- in the ocean in the world. we saw this where we thought we knew where the plane went in - the air france, and the 747 in america - we found floating wreckage, it took two years to find the wreckage. they didn't get there before the

pickers rang out. it's a -- ran out. it's a different scenario. it's no longer a haystack, it's a bale of hay otherwise it's a needle in a hay field. >> dr beale joining us from albuquerque, new mexico. thank you for being was again today. >> hours ago thousands gathered in malaysia's capital kuala lumpur at a prayer vigil. the service held for the family members of crew and passengers aboard the jet liner. we'll follow the story. for up to the minute information 24/7 you can log on to aljazeera.com. >> afghanistan has started the task of counting the 7 million votes cast in the election. millions turned out to choose a

successor for president hamid karzai. he's been in power for 13 years. for whoever wins, they need to decide whether to sign an agreement to allow 10,000 u.s. soldiers to stay in afghanistan. >> the queue started forming well before the polling stations opened. despite the threats to tart the election, people wanted to vote. in afghanistan's 5,000-year history, this election marks the first democratic transfer of power. people here have been eager to seize the chance. >> we don't care about the threat, you can see everyone coming here. for me, i don't have any kind of work. 12 million people were eligible to vote. in parts of the country where the taliban held sway polling stations were sold. >> this is the scene, people

queueing up after going through a security check. they dip their finger in ink, they pick up the ballot papers, go into the privacy of the booth, cast their vote and cast the ballot in the box. the blue one is for the presidential election, the clean from the provincial. there are eight canned dats. the provincial elections get six pages like this. there are 400 candidates in kabul, each voting has to choose one of the candidates. it's not a quick process. >> president karzai was one of the first to vote. the election brings to an end his 12 years of rule since the taliban was forced out of power in 2001. >> i cast my vote as a citizen of the country. i'm glad and proud that i voted. i'm certain today's event and our people's participation will take afghanistan towards

stability and better lies. >> kabul was locked down as part of an unprecedented security operation mobilizing 400,000 security personnel, but helped to bring the number of attacks below the average, according to security sources. counting started as polls closed. there are allegations of fraud being made, that will test the independence of the electoral commission. >> i'm not confident that the complaints would be handled fairly. we don't know how the elections commission and the complaints commission will act during the - the past experiences that we had with the two commissions have not been desirable. this time around it remains to be seen whether they will act sincerely or act in favour of one of the candidates. >> the commission is not expected to announce preliminary

results for four to five days, this was never expected to be a poll free of fraud, but how much there is will determine whether afghans accept the commission's final decisions on the winner. >> eight men are running to be the next president of afghanistan. three are considered the favourite. the grant runner is ashraf ghani ahmadzai. he used to be the finance minister. he worked for the world bank for over a decade. then there's zalmai rassoul, the top pick of outgoing president of hamid karzai. his running mate is a woman. he's unmarried, which is unusual for a politician in afghanistan. then there's abdullah abdullah. he ran for president back in 2009, finishing is distant second to hamid karzai. he is a former eye doctor. >> let's talk about zalmai rassoul, he's believed to be

hamid karzai's top pick. jane ferguson takes a look at what his victory could mean. >> even those hoping to run this country can't travel its roads. this presidential candidate's helicopter lands at a spot which is a 2-hour drive from the capital, a journey considered too dangerous for him. previously foreign minister zalmai rassoul is seen as hamid karzai's chosen successor. that support, however, could come with a legacy of corruption linked to the government. >> the hamid karzai government will be very well-known for a long time for horrendous levels of corruption. >> you were part of the government. what will you do differently? >> first of all, i have not been involved in corruption issues. the fact that i have been involved - i know what is happening. i know which kind of thing we should do to correct that. i want to put the experience

that i got and achievement and lack of achievement in service of the afghan people. >> hamid karzai refused to sign a bilateral security agreement with the u.s. allowing some foreign troops to remain in the country, throwing relations with the u.s. into cries assist. >> the fundamental of the relationship with the united states is solid. we have problems, they happen with the friends. i was personally involved in drafting it from the afghan side. i believe that the national interests of afghanistan has been record. it's in that interests of afghanistan and the united states, and i'm hopeful that this will be signed soon. >> in jalalabad city speeches are heard by thousands of locals, including supporters of warlords. of the eight men running for president, zalmai rassoul is one of three to have a female

vice-president. like political campaigns the world over. image and protocoal mould themselves. >> in reality, when they travel to the provinces to areas like this, 13 years since the fall of the taliban, there's not a single woman in this crowd. he was educated in europe's finest schools. his legacy as a descendant of the royal family is seen as an asset in the eyes of afghans. if afghans decide they want more of the same style of government, he stands a strong chance of leading it. jane ferguson - al jazeera, jalalabad. >> president obama offered his congratulationses to the afghan

people. in a statement. the president says the election is a milestone for the country adding: >> fort hood will hold a public memorial service on wednesday, a week after a deadly shooting ampage at a texas army post. heidi zhou-castro has the latest. >> the fort commander says it was an argument that was a direct reciprocating factor to the shooting on tuesday. the father says his son saw ivan lopez go into the personal office to request a leave form. the sun said when ivan lopez was denied the form and told to come back the next day the specialist became angry, got his gun, came in and began to shoot, killing

three soldiers, wounding 16 before turning the gun and killing himself. >> we are learning more about who ivan lopez was from his friends in puerto rico where he grew up. they tell us in november of last year ivan lopez's mother died of a heart attack. ivan lopez wanted to spend time. he was upset the army gave him a 48 hour leave. in december, when his grandfather passed away, he was unable to attend that funeral. while it is still early and motive has not been determined, the question of leave, and with that invoked in ivan lopez on wednesday is an avenue that investigators were exploring. as far as the community around ford hood is concerned. it was in 2009 that major nidal hasan killed 13 on the same post and wounded 32. it was in august of last year that the community was able to

find closure when a panel sentenced nidal hasan to death, to be executed. just when they were turning the page on that shooting this happens, and people are left questioning how that happened and how further violence could be prevented. >> that's al jazeera. heidi zhou-castro reporting from fort hood. ivan lopez was treated for anxiety and depression, the army doesn't believe it has anything to do with the shootings. >> it's a remote region in georgia, in light of the crisis in ukraine, residents fear they may be sitting ducks for a russian invasion. >> a baby sick at sea. her family adventure ending with a u.s. navy rescue.

>> take a look at the stunning

images of a solar flare captured by n.a.s.a. this week. they are powerful bursts of radiation from the sun. when strong enough they can disrupt gps and communication signals. wednesday's is classified as a mideastern flare. back to worldly matters, russia's relations to ukraine is on the skids after viktor yanukovych was ousted from power. russia also has a history of interpretation with its neighbour georgia, especially in the remote region south of that country. we have the latest in georgia. >> close to the borders of turkey and armenia lies georgia. once home to a strategic base to the russian military, it's economically deprived. this town has an armenian majority. most people don't speak

georgian. activists say locals are cut off from georgia. >> always needed to motivate people, to be more integrated. >> this regional capital is a more mixed town. for ethnic armenians, saying his loyalties are with georgia. . >> translation: we are born here, my father and my son. >> they've had a turbulent history, his muslim et cetera nifty was deported by stalin. >> with the mosque and church, it's an example of the multi-ethnic society. that diversity, though it could be a strength, it has been a greatest vulnerability. following conflicts russian forces control 20% of recognised

georgian territory. armenia, russia's strategic partner and home to a military base lies to the south. some fear russia may seek to destabilize and split georgia in half. georgia wants closer ties to the west. could moscow exploit the grievances. >> people started talking about the possibility of losing this area. it's emotional fears linked to the past. >> russia's last outpost here was abandoned in 2007. russian troops might return seems far-fetched. event in ukraine are having far-reaching consequences and creating uncertainty. georgians may need to do more to

keep the countries united. >> defense secretary chuck hagel is in japan as parts of a 6-day mission to the region and is seeking o reassural lies after what many see as a cautious response. the u.s. will send too more defense shifts. he met with his japanese counter part. asian countries are worried about north korea after it test-fired missiles. a complex rescue operation to help a sick baby girl. a u.s. navy is approaching the boat where the 1-year-old fell ill. she wh her family were sailing hundreds of miles off the mexican coast. the boat is carrying a helicopter and crew of 200. they'll bring the baby and her family back to the shore. >> the archbishop gregory has

apologised for his $2.2 million home. check it out. that, 6,000 square foot attitudar style house outraged a lot of parishioners. many said gregory should follow pope francis's lifestyle and live a simple lifestyle. >> archbishop gregory said he would vacate the premises in may and move into another arch diocese property. >> many said "don't sell the residence", but archbishop gregory feels strongly that this is a time to bring close to this and move on. >> the archbishop says money to the sale will be donated to catholic clauses. >> fracking was ner seismic

activity in oklahoma. 250 tremors have been reported this year alone. some seismologists think it's linked to an exploration for underground oil and natural gas. >> coming up, an upset at the big dance. the underdog gets a shot at hoops and mortality. "

>> and then there were two. a good bet not the two anyone pencilled in to be playing for a national championship. the final four festivities begin with 7-seeded yukon shocking florida and conditioned with kentucky saying anything you can do i can do better, knocking out 2-seated wisconsin. john callet pari had his version

of the fab five. the young guns fired. aaron harrison's long three pointer. one less shot, but it would not go. john kali perry's wildcats heading into the title. 74 to 73. now to the earlier game. yukon, the last team to bet florida on a 30-game winning industry, and the 7-seater husky with a huge pet. knocked down, big free throes in the air, and the huskies beat florida, making a fourth trip to the titles since 1999. ross shimabuku was in arling don texas, and has more of what ended up being a wild finish. >> how about the kids from kentucky. they continued a magical run into tournament.

here is the came-winning three against michigan and wisconsin to put kentucky in the championship game for the first time in 2012. we played seven freshman folks. and they are all performing in that stage, under those lights - an amazing story. >> kentucky up against you tonne. you have to give a lot of credit to kevin oli in the second season because yukon got off to a sluggish start and down by 12 points. >> in the huddle i toed the guys and wrote even though we are down 16 and 4, you have to have faith in each other. i knew they would get back in the game, they knew, and it would take one possession at a time. >> we have been flow a lot of dog fights and we continued to believe in each other.

we didn't point fingers, we understood that this is a game of run, and we are down 16 to 4, we are looking and putting the pressure on, and ending up. this is the last one. we have eight and 7-seat battle in the titles. kentucky and yukon for the marvels on monday night. we'll be there for the seen finale. that's a look at sports. i'm jessica taff. >> brazil's government deployed thousands of soldiers to rio de janeiro's dangerous neighbourhood. it's part of a sustained effort to take control of some of the clums ahead of the world cup. many known as favelas or home to drug gangs, which is why security forces are trying to make them safer for tourists. and that will do it for this edition of al jazeera. i'm morgan radford live in new york city. thank you for watching.

remember, you can get the latest information 24/7 by logging on to aljazeera.com. stay tuned. >> hi, i'm lisa fletcher and you're in "the stream." 9 million americans are taking prescription drugs that may have dangerous interaction. are you one of them? find out in the next 30 minutes. if you're like nearly 70% of americans, you're taking at least one prescription medication, and as you age, that number is likely to go up.